This invention relates generally to hydrocarbon processing and, more particularly, to the processing of hydrocarbon-containing materials having a high light olefin content, such as produced or formed in or by the cracking of a heavy hydrocarbon feedstock.
Light olefins serve as feed materials for the production of numerous chemicals. Light olefins have traditionally been produced through the processes of steam or catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons such as derived from petroleum sources. Fluidized catalytic cracking (FCC) of heavy hydrocarbon streams is commonly carried out by contacting a starting material whether it be vacuum gas oil, reduced crude, or another source of relatively high boiling hydrocarbons with a catalyst such as composed of finely divided or particulate solid material. The catalyst is transported in a fluid-like manner by transmitting a gas or vapor through the catalyst at sufficient velocity to produce a desired regime of fluid transport. Contact of the oil with the fluidized material catalyzes the cracking reaction.
The cracking reaction typically deposits coke on the catalyst. Catalyst exiting the reaction zone is commonly referred to as being “spent”, i.e., partially deactivated by the deposition of coke upon the catalyst. Coke is comprised of hydrogen and carbon and can include, in trace quantities, other materials such as sulfur and metals such that may enter the process with the starting material. The presence of coke interferes with the catalytic activity of the spent catalyst. It is believed that the coke blocks acid sites on the catalyst surface where the cracking reactions take place. Spent catalyst is traditionally transferred to a stripper that removes adsorbed hydrocarbons and gases from catalyst and then to a regenerator for the purpose of removing the coke by oxidation with an oxygen-containing gas. An inventory of catalyst having a reduced coke content, relative to the spent catalyst in the stripper, hereinafter referred to as regenerated catalyst, is collected for return to the reaction zone. Oxidizing the coke from the catalyst surface releases a large amount of heat, a portion of which escapes the regenerator with gaseous products of coke oxidation generally referred to as flue gas. The balance of the heat leaves the regenerator with the regenerated catalyst. The fluidized catalyst is continuously circulated between the reaction zone and the regeneration zone. The fluidized catalyst, as well as providing a catalytic function, serves as a vehicle for the transfer of heat from zone to zone. FCC processing is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,533 to Tagamolila et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,985 to Lomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,206 to Castillo and U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,906 B1 to Eng. Specific details of the various contact zones, regeneration zones, and stripping zones along with arrangements for conveying the catalyst between the various zones are well known to those skilled in the art.
The FCC reactor serves to crack gas oil or heavier feeds into a broad range of products. Cracked vapors from an FCC unit enter a separation zone, typically in the form of a main column, that provides a gas stream, a gasoline cut, light cycle oil (LCO) and clarified oil (CO) which includes heavy cycle oil (HCO) components. The gas stream may include dry gas, i.e., hydrogen and C1 and C2 hydrocarbons, and liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”), i.e., C3 and C4 hydrocarbons, also sometimes commonly referred to as wet gas.
In view of an increasing need and demand for light olefins such as ethylene and propylene for various petrochemical uses such as for the production of polyethylene, polypropylene and the like as well as the desire to produce relatively less of heavier olefins such as butylenes and pentenes which are generally less desirable as gasoline blending components due to environmental considerations, it may be desired to practice the cracking reaction processing of heavy hydrocarbon feedstock to increase the relative amount of light olefins in the resulting product slate.
Research efforts have led to the development of an FCC process that produces or results in greater relative yields of light olefins, i.e., ethylene and propylene. Such processing is more fully described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,538,169 B1 to Pittman et al. As disclosed therein, a hydrocarbon feed stream can desirably be contacted with a blended catalyst comprising regenerated catalyst and coked catalyst. The catalyst has a composition including a first component and a second component. The second component comprises a zeolite with no greater than medium pore size wherein the zeolite comprises at least 1 wt. % of the catalyst composition. The contacting occurs in a riser to crack hydrocarbons in the feed stream and obtain a cracked stream containing hydrocarbon products including light olefins and coked catalyst. The cracked stream is passed out of an end of the riser such that the hydrocarbon feed stream is in contact with the blended catalyst in the riser for less than or equal to 2 seconds on average.
While traditional absorption-based FCC gas concentration units and processing are generally effective for recovering propylene using a primary absorber followed by a secondary or sponge absorber, the recovery of ethylene has proven more troublesome. For example, it is common for such traditional absorption-based FCC gas concentration units and processing to utilize a purge stream to remove undesired ethane from the system. Unfortunately, such purging of ethane is typically accompanied by the loss of valued ethylene material.
In view of the increasing need and demand for light olefins such as ethylene and propylene, there is a need and a demand for improved processing and arrangements for the separation and recovery of light olefins from such FCC process effluent.